actually miyazaki said kaya was ashitakas soon-to-be wife. i know she refers to him as "anisama" which translates to "older brother" but miyazaki stated thats just what younger girls called older men at the time. kaya gave the arrowhead to ashitaka bc they would've have to given their prized possession to their partner during marriage (or something of that sort idrk). i think ashitaka passed it on to san to show his affinity towards her 🤷🏻‍♀️

My favourite thing about this movie (having just watched it) is that hate and anger technically make Ashitaka stronger but he chooses to use that strength to destroy the root of all the hate and anger by loving everyone on all sides of the conflict. What a BAWSE move.

After the battle, when Okkoto goes to the spirit of the forest to be healed, and the hunters follow him, disguised in the skins of dead boars to fool Okkoto's sense of smell, the hunters as dead eyed boars stabbing Okkoto in the stomach as he walks is still one of the most upsetting things I've seen in film. Affects my decision to watch it again or not.

Names Samuel. On a vid about my favourite film. Right before bed. Thanks man.

I really liked the ending of Princess Mononoke. San’s attitude towards humans changes only a little bit, but ultimately, everyone changes for the better. Everyone learns something.

"H E Y, D O N ' T K I L L T H E T H I N G Y O U L I V E O N, I D I O T." Okay, where did I put that poster paper and my markers? Also props for the term, "Co-masticate."

"I'm simply going to talk about this movie like I talk about any movie." You say that line in the disclaimer as though it might be a flaw of the review, and while I can't speak for all of your viewers, I'm sure there are many who would agree with me that that is _exactly_ what I wanted from this video. I can go anywhere to learn about the dubs vs. subs discussion. I came here for some Mikeynalysis. Thanks for the brilliant dissection, as always.

"you saved literally all living things, god and mortal alike, and existence in all observable dimensions so you no longer pray to god, the gods are now going to pray to you FIGHT LESS TALK MORE SAY SORRY SOMETIMES"

"They went left" I cracked

"I'm gonna talk a lot about Environment and Environmentalism." Well, it's kinda hard to AVOID talking about that when it comes to Miyazaki movies😂. Which makes sense considering he was born in Japan during WWII

"Goes into self isolation." "Like declaring war on your own lungs!" Damn, some of your quips have aged like milk lmao.

"Too many weird bloodstuffs" is exactly my memory of this movie

As I watched this, I kept feeling myself rebel against your suggestion that Ashitaka's act of defending his village against the demon was an evil one, but I ultimately reconciled it to myself as a *necessary* evil act, an unavoidable mistake; an *inherited sin* that occurred as a part of the cycle that leads people to, in the absence of good options, commit further evil as a poor corrective against the consequences of past evil (that they have probably benefited from in the environment of their upbringing, making them complicit, as you mentioned). There was no "good" option for Ashitaka. The least evil thing for him to do would have been to practice non-violence even in the face of this threat (to his credit, he did attempt diplomacy before attacking, albeit to no avail), even if it meant watching his village be destroyed, but you'd have to be the goddamned Buddha to be that detached. So it took a little time for me to get on your wavelength, but I now read your characterization of Ashitaka killing the demon as "evil" in an objective context, without judgment. Overall, this was a very thought-provoking review that helped me to think about the movie in new ways. Bravo.

I know this it 3 years old so maybe no one will see this buuuuut,,,,,,,,,,,, I bought the "fight less" shirt in the Catawampus store and it just now arrived and I am so very excited. Thanks all!

This movie puts Cameron's _Avatar_ to shame.

WARNING: HISTORY NERD RANT INCOMING Soooooooooooo, you referred to Ashitaka as the last prince of the Emishi "tribe," which is sort of true but only goes halfway. The Emishi were actually a separate ethnic group within Japan, culturally and linguistically distinct from the Japanese-speaking Yamato people. The Emishi existed in northern Honshu well before the Yamato arrived, and for a long time resisted rule by the Japanese emperors.You may have noticed that the Ashitaka and the Emishi villagers dressed differently than other Japanese in the film, and the village men had stocky builds and full, bushy beards-- traits associated with the Emishi and their modern-day descendants, the Ainu. (European explorers encountering Ainu for the first time in the 19th century actually thought they were Caucasians.) That might seem like a myopic distinction, but I think it has some relevance to your analysis. Ashitaka's status as an Emishi is yet one more way that he would have been marked as an outsider by the people of Iron Town.

That last set of lines, culminating in "you no longer pray to god," caused me to cry literal tears of joy. This is awesome. You're awesome.

Mikey: Im simply going to talk about this movie, like I talk about any movie. So here's what the story of Princess Mononoke means to me. Exactly what I wanted from Movies with Mikey. I loved this and love you. Thank you so much!

"I reject my humanity, JoJo!" Dio is the hero mother nature deserves.

People will soon understand time as before Movies with Mikey and after Movies with Mikey Facts.

I'm so drunk and so appriative that you posted this. I love your videos so much man. you are the best. that you so so much. I just broke up with my gf and you have been my fav distraction. I love you. thank you

To this day this is one of my favorite movies anime or otherwise. You did an amazing job saying why the film works as a nuanced piece and I'm glad I found your channel, I'm definitely subscribing

My favorite animated movie of all time. I just finished it again before watching this, and this review made me have even more respect for it than I already did, somehow. And now I want to watch it again. Absolutely mind-blowing review. Good job.

Absolutely in love with this video, its such a quality, vertical-slice type of analysis and so so so well put together and edited. Seriously, your presentation style gives me life.

"Evil is a byproduct" Beautiful. I need to rewatch Mononoke. I haven't seen Arrival yet, so Moon.

I hope you do some Satoshi Kon eventually. His movies are amazing. My vote is Arrival.

Mikey, I am continually impressed by how well you handle my favorite films with care, consideration, and love. Great episode!

I'm always watching your videos first, then watching the movie, then rewatching your videos. Finally got around to watching Princess Mononoke and wow, it definitely delivered. And then rewatching your commentary added another level of understanding. Keep it up Mikey, you make me excited to watch movies again.

Moon. Great work as always Mikey. Thumbs up for the $40 hold music love.

Moon! Awesome take on Miyazaki, I haven't watched his movies in almost 15 years, this makes me want to revisit his library of movies. Thank you for doing what you do Mikey.

This was a truly brilliant video. Entertaining, thoughtful, funny and intelligent all at once! Magnificent stuff my man

I come back to this video every couple months, and I cry every time. Thanks for making it.

Arrival please and thank you ❤

5:11 fuck me, the nausicaa theme always gets me mikey you have to do nausicaa at some point. No, not in that way. Maybe in that way

Love the closing arguments. This video is amazing.

This is your best. I binged about half your catalogue and this one was my favorite.

Hey, so I wrote an essay on Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away for my Culture and Environmental Politics term paper and I used your video for inspiration. So yeah, thank you for making this, cause I got an A!

Great review, as always!! According to an interview of Miyazaki himself, Kaya wasn't supposed to be his sister, she just used the honorific older brother; which i guess, having never seen the English dub, might have been translated literally. Anyway, here's the excerpt (www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/m_on_mh.html): - Kaya, who saw Ashitaka off, loved Ashitaka, didn't she? M: Yes of course. She calls him "Anisama (older brother)", but it just means that he is an older boy in her clan. - So they are not real brother and sister. M: If they were, that wouldn't be interesting at all. There used to be a lot of marriage among blood relations in Japan. I thought of Kaya as a girl who is determined to do so (marry Ashitaka). But Ashitaka chose San. It's not strange at all to live with San, who lives with such a brutal fate. That's life.

Loved this so much. Had not seen the film before but now can't wait to see it. Thank you! And Moon.

literally as I was watching The Arrival I was thinking about how excited I was for you to do an episode on it. That gets my vote!

Exactly what I wanted from an analysis of Mononoke. Nicely done, Mikey. Vote: Moon.

"The gods are going to pray to you." Golden line.

Moon, for certain. You did an absolutely phenomenal job with a monumental task bud. So happy to have watched it. Well played.

really REALLY enjoyed this, thanks for making it

KAYA WAS HIS WIFE-TO-BE San was his love interest. So he gives her the gift of his wife to be.

This was an amazing analysis of a film I've always loved. It was probably one of the first movies I watched that really addressed that morality is complex and a matter of perspective. Thank you!

Man, another beautiful piece that touched on aspects of a movie I love in such a personal, hilarious, and thought-out way. I am so glad I discovered you. Please continue!

Arrival for me. This was a great break down. Thank you for your effort.

Please. Moon. A million times, MOON. (I'm voting for the film "Moon," starring the ineffable Sam Rockwell) 1 vote for Moon, please. Thanks. Moon. Not Arrival.

One more great video! About the disclaimer, I think we all did enough autosatisfaction about how great Miyazaki is. So it's good that you save your time for actually interesting comments and analysis. Thank you for one more amazing video! And I vote for Moon!

just fgound your channel through cinema wins, i love it. i will be binge watching all night.

Your best work yet man. Thank you for this!

This is an utterly beautiful and interesting look at one of my favorite films. Thank you so much for making it. 💜

this was interesting, the fact you have almost no context in terms of the broader medium of anime let's you get a unique perspective rather than being bogged down by "all the anime shit"

Omg that Samuel bit scared me so much! 😂 my name is Samuel and I'm lying in bed with the lights off rn... Fun! 😂

This will always be one of my favorite movies. You tackled the themes phenomenally in my opinion, and at the same time you were original in what you said. Kudos

Interesting episode! After thinking about how complex and looooong Mononoke is, I can't imagine the challenge making a cohesive episode out of that film must have been. I thought the disclaimer was unneeded, but then I don't spend much time discussing anime on the internet, so maybe it was. :) I just watch the stuff I think is good. I'm glad you gave Mononoke your treatment. I think it's an amazing film, and probably my favorite of Miyazaki's "serious" movies (that Nausica though . . .) Having recently introduced my toddlers to Miyazaki's films (and hence watching Kiki almost every day for the last two months) I find it amazing the depth even the more kid friendly of his films have, the layers of meaning and pitch-perfect storytelling that I've found in them is inspiring. And Mononoke, yeah . . . that's a tall order. Good work, I'm looking forward to the next episode!

Fantastic deconstruction of one of my very favorite films. Quite entertaining! This is the first video of yours that I've watched, and I'm already convinced to subscribe! As much work as I'm sure you've put into the video, my favorite part has to be "Thwomp, BAP!" at 8:19.

Amazing video about an amazing movie. You're a treasure, Mikeyface.

Thanks Mikey! Loved it!

Arrival. On a side note, my girlfriend and I love your videos, we watch all of them, it's kinda an event for us when new ones come out. Thanks for doing it. You're my favorite.

“Then San and Ashitaka co-masticate” well that’s a sentence I did not expect to hear today. Or...any day. In my life.

Thanks, that was a very good and thought-provoking video.

Thanks for the hard work as always. Great episode. MOON.

Moon please. Arrival was fantastic, but needs space to breathe.

Moon! (Only because Arrival is fresh and it could use some more time to stew).

wow, that music choice at the end, 👌 nailed it. this is gotta be the best video essay for my all time most favorate film! bravo

This was the video that got me to sub to FilmJoy in the first place, and even after watching it 3 times since its release, I still get emotional watching it. God, this is a good video!

Arrival

Mononoke really is one of those 'What did YOU do today?!' films. I want all the people to see it. My vote goes for Moon because then I'll have a good excuse to watch moon.

I got reminded why I'm subscribed to your channel. Your storytelling and observations are underrated.

Excellent work ever Mikey. Always puts a smile on my face when I see you've added a new video. Moon gets my vote.

Thanks CinemaWins for showing me awesome channelingu ^_^

Your movie review had a unique, flavorful balance of humor and insight. But what made me slap that hot red subscribe button was the quote "And they got a bad case of the evils and SHOT GUNS AT DOGS. Then dogs kicked their ass."

Bro your commentary makes me love movies so much more. Half of your "movies with mikey" are you explaining why I love my favorite movies way more clearly than I ever could and the other half are you opening me up to art I probably would have never noticed or cared about otherwise. Now to watch mononoke again.

I reallllly love your thoughts and analyses. Thank you!!

why did this make me cry

I know no one will read this... I gotta say the last, and I mean last thing I expected to see was a vhs screen tearing (I think that's what it is) with my damn formal name spookily being blasted into my head when watching this with my headset on at night. PS love all of your vids so far Mikey really great, you can thank cinema wins for sending me here a while back.

I loved this! You are awesome!

Yearly viewing, fills my heart with hope and my head with details I must have missed on previous veiwingds

Arrival!

Am Named Samuel. Liked your video, but it feels weird.

S' really great review! AND what a breath of fresh air that it has nothin' to the usual discussions brought up in anime. I know that sounds like a low bar, but it is so hard to talk about anything remotely close to 'anime' without things devolving and ignoring the much of content in favor of discussing the packaging. Out of Ghibli films, this one and Pom poko have been the most compelling to me, both because of the grey areas on what is 'evil' vs what is just misunderstood and taking on responsibility for your own survival. Thanks again, this was an entertaining video! If you ever get a patreon, I'll love to throw money your way, your content is worth it!

All of your thoughts are why this was always, and always will be my favorite Miyazaki film. Thank you for all of the effort.

Great analysis, though I wouldn't consider Ashitaka nothing. He might have considered himself as such, due to being outcast by his village, but was never that or seen as such. You're videos are always awesome with superb editing, though I'm highly surprised your not continuously smacked with YT music copyright hits unless your always paying out a lot of money for purchases.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON

Arrival! And I really loved this video. Princess Mononoke is one of my favourite films, and this video just gave it a whole new light to me (as always, with your videos).

Hey Mikey I like the things you do and your always-positive approach on media.

Pretty good analysis bro! I remember seeing this in theatre when I was like, 10 or how ever old I was in 1997, and it's always been one of my favorite movies. Also what DO you have to say about Rush Hour 3?

Moon, because it is not yet time for Arrival. Give me 6-9 more months first.

Very interesting and thought provoking analysis, good job.

i loved every minute of this. fight less, talk more, say sorry sometimes will always be a beautiful and valuable sentiment thanks for what you do

You are GOD. You managed to make at least one 8sec-attention-spam-millennial sit still focused on one thing for half an hour. Seriously, You inspire me a great deal on my editing work. I'mma gonna edit an homage to you.

Moon, Mikey. Moon.

Your style is so good it hurts!

Every FilmJoy video is Fing Brilliant

No "but did you know"?

if you want another really good animated movie with deeper themes look up Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, its a political espionage movie taking place in an alternate japanese 50s its super good

This is the first review that ever made me want to watch the movie, so thank you. The other reviews, as you almost said, just heap praise on the god-like director and Studio and focus entirely on the mind-blowing visuals etc etc. - you actually told me what the movie was about, backing it up with quotes from the man himself. So yeah, good job!

That was great Mikey, thanks!